Without You
by Spike'sSavior
Summary: Set 2 months after season 5 ended and goes through season 6. Goodbye is just the beggining of the adventure. McGee and Abby's story set in the intermission between seasons 5 and 6.
1. Saving Myself

Wow this is my first NCIS fic. Anyway I hope you guys like this and please review!

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She remembered when she heard the news. Tony was being shoved onto some ship, Ziva was being forced backed to Israel, and her McGee, her sweet Tim, was being forgotten in the basement.

Abby was sure it couldn't get any worse and the only thing that kept her going was Gibb's promise. He was going to get them all back; he was going to bring her Tim back to her. But the days kept adding up and the minute hand moved oh so slowly that it seemed like the loneliness would never end.

Everything had changed too fast, she hated the new director and she missed Jenny terribly. Then her family had been stolen away from her. "I'm working on it Abs," Gibbs would say every time she reminded him of how many days they had been gone. She knew he was trying his best and that he missed them as much as she did. It had been like three of his kids had been taken from him and all he had left was Abby.

The new team only made her desire for Tony, Ziva, and McGee to come back even stronger. They were good people but Agent Lee was too stuck up, Langer was rude to her, and Keating was nerdier and more socially awkward than McGee could ever be.

2 months, 4 days, 12 hours, 15 minutes.

And counting.

Abby sat with her chin propped on her hands as she stared at the computer screen. Sometimes when she was very bored, or stuck on something she would pretend to have a conversation with McGee in her head. He always seemed to push her to excel in ways that seemed impossible for regular forensic scientists.

"Hey Abby."

She smiled as she heard McGee's voice in her head and said hello back to him mentally and closed her eyes, trying to picture him. His sweet smile and bright green eyes greeting her as he walked into the lab to help her or do his own work.

"Abby!"

She jumped and looked over to her right and was shocked to see McGee standing right next to her.

"Timmy!" she shouted as she jumped off her stool and hugged him tightly.

He chuckled and hugged her back before she jumped out of his grasp and looked at his hands. "So what do you got for me?" Abby asked, hoping it was something challenging that would force him to stay for a while.

McGee shoved his hands in his pockets and the smile on his face faded. "I got news Abby," he said softly.

She began to panic internally, had Tony or Ziva been hurt wherever they happened to be? Was Gibbs ok?

"What, what is it? Nobody's hurt are they?" Abby asked quickly.

"No, no one's hurt…well at least I don't think they are, hard to get any important news down at CC," McGee said bitterly.

"Well what is it?" she asked.

McGee was silent for a moment "I'm leaving," he said.

"What?" Abby nearly shouted.

"I quit Cyber Crimes, Vance still won't let me rejoin Gibbs' team, so I'm leaving DC," he explained.

"But you can't!" she cried.

"What am I supposed to do Abby, I trained hard to be a field agent and then I get shoved down into the basement like a piece of junk never to be heard from again?" he said, trying to get her to understand even though he didn't understand everything himself.

"But Tim…" she tried to say but he cut her off, not wanting her to talk him into staying, because if there was one person who could, it was her.

"Abs, I've come too far to be happy with being stuck down at Cyber Crimes, if this had happened my first or second year of working here then I'd probably still be down there wasting away, but that's not me anymore and I can't wait for Gibbs to rescue the three of us. This time I'm saving myself."

It was quiet and Abby felt tears roll down her face and she watched McGee's face contort with guilt at making her cry.

Quickly brushing away her tears she asked, "Where will you go?"

He smiled and said "What other place is there to go other than New York City."

Abby wiped more tears from her eyes as she started to laugh and McGee moved to hug her. She leaned her head on his chest and listened to his heart beating, the sound comforting her slightly.

"Gibbs is gonna fix all of this, and then you'll all be back here ok," Abby said as they parted.

"I hope so," he replied softly "Goodbye Abs."

"See you soon, Tim," she said and he smiled at her optimism.

Abby closed her eyes as Tim's lips met hers and brushed her tears away with the pads of his thumbs. She moved closer and tried to wrap her arms around his neck and pull him closer but as soon as the kiss began, it ended and before she could get her bearings Tim was gone.

She pressed her fingers to her lips and smiled as she began to sob.

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Sad, I know. Sorry to say it's just gonna get worse as time goes on. Please review!


	2. 3 in the morning

Hey everybody. Here's chapter 2. I hope you guys like it. Please review. Also if any of you guys live in New York City and I got something wrong about where McGee is living then please tell me. I don't live in NY or have ever been their unfortunately so I'm just going what I've gotten off of maps and pictures.

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2 months, 5 days, 3 hours, 23 minutes.

There was nothing left. She had raced over to McGee's apartment after work, hoping to talk him out of leaving. But when she unlocked the door with the key he had given her so long ago, everything was gone.

Abby realized that he must have found a place in New York and had all his things moved there to his new apartment before he even went in that morning to announce that he was quitting.

Now she was sitting in McGee's empty apartment at 3 in the morning. She had tried calling him but he wouldn't answer and she didn't leave any messages. Abby didn't know what to say anyway. Looking around she smiled as she mentally put McGee's things back where they belonged. It was all there in her head, but Tim wasn't.

She opened her eyes as she heard the doorknob turn and jumping up she hoped that it would be McGee. "Abbs?"

Her face crumpled as she saw Gibbs step through the door and look at her, his face written with fatherly concern. "Tim…he's, um, he's gone Gibbs…" she trailed off as she looked around and saw that her mental image of the room was gone.

"I know Abby," Gibbs replied softly.

"It's not fair Gibbs!" Abby said angrily as she stomped her foot on the floor. She knew she was acting like a child, but it wasn't fair and she was sick of crying. "Why did this have to happen to us, why did they all have to leave?"

"I don't know Abby, I really don't," Gibbs said as he walked over to her. "But I swear I'll get them all back."

Abby nodded and hugged Gibbs tightly. "I miss him Gibbs, I miss all of them."

Gibbs tightened the hug and she knew that meant that he did too.

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She had called him three times since he had left. He didn't answer the phone; just let it go right to voice mail, though she didn't leave any. He supposed it was best that he didn't answer; he wouldn't know what to say anyway.

He knew it was going to be weird, living in a new place and not going into work every morning. McGee had decided the moment he had gotten his new apartment that he wasn't going to get another job. He was strictly a writer now, not a federal agent working with the best group of people he had ever had the pleasure to meet.

It would be weird, but he would get used to it. He would have to, and maybe after a while it would get easier to cope. Tim sighed as he looked around at his new loft apartment. It was a hell of a lot larger than his apartment he had in DC, meaning he actually had room for a couch now.

Extra space wasn't making him happier though. Tim walked over to the large windows that led out to the fire escape and sat down on the wide sill. He looked out at his new neighborhood, 2nd Avenue smack dab in the middle of East Village, Manhattan.

McGee sighed and leaned his head against the cool glass. He silently wondered if he would ever see Ziva or Tony again, if everyone would forget each other after so long. It was 3 in the morning and he watched people walking down on the street below and cars and taxis heading in one direction, towards downtown. There were so many people on one island and more than enough to do for more than one lifetime. No wonder New York City never slept.

His cell phone began to ring and he sighed, wondering if he should answer and talk to Abby finally. No, not Abby, it was Sarah.

"Hey," he answered.

"How's New York?" she asked.

"Busy," he replied as he ran his hand through his hair.

"I figured, just wanted to call and make sure my big bro hadn't been killed yet," Sarah said with a hint of amusement.

"Sarah I know how to take care of myself," he said indignantly.

"Yea well, I watch Law and Order, I know how things go on there," she said.

"I'm sure you do, TV's rotting your brain," Tim said, wondering what Sarah was really doing calling him so early.

"Shouldn't you be asleep?"

"I could ask the same of you," she replied.

Tim replied softly "Touché."

"You ok?" she asked.

"Yea just tired and…I don't know," Tim sighed.

"Maybe you should write," she said, knowing that was the way he dealt with things.

"I don't even know where I'd start."

"The beginning is usually the place you start at," she said, trying to cheer him up.

He chuckled, "I hope you're taking good care of the Porsche?"

"I was wondering how long it would take you to get to that, it's only been half a day since you let me have it and you're so sure I've ruined your baby," Sarah said and he could almost hear her eyes rolling.

"Brat," he mumbled.

"Wuss," she shot back.

He was quite, too tired to continue their name calling. Sarah sighed "Have you talked to Abby yet?"

"And say what?" he shot back.

"Just talk to her you big lug, you were her friend and with your other team mates gone and now you in New York she's probably feeling like crap," Sarah said, wondering why her brother was avoiding Abby in the first place.

"I gotta go Sarah," he said.

"Cheer up Tim, you're in one of the best cities in the world, try and have fun," Sarah said.

"Goodbye, Sarah."

"Bye Tim."

McGee got off the window sill and walked over to his typewriter and sat down. Sarah was right; he needed to do something to help him deal with this cluster fuck.

_Deep Six: Point Blank _

_By Thom E. Gemcity_

He stared at the title, at his pen name and Tony's insults about his writers block came into his mind. Tim couldn't help but smile, he couldn't believe he was missing Tony's teasing, he really was losing it.

Grabbing the sheet of paper he crumpled it up and shredded it. He stared at a new blank page and wondered what to do. How was he supposed to write another Deep Six? How could he use the same characters that were, in truth, his friends on the page?

"Shit," he mumbled. Tim got up and walked over to the fridge and grabbed two beers. He didn't usually drink when he was writing, but he decided that if he was living in a new city, starting a new life, might as well try a new way of writing.

The page stayed blank through his first two beers, and through his third. By his fourth his hands moved of their own accord and quickly typed out something new. Tim stared at the page and smiled. He had found his new project, the thing that would take his mind off of Abby, Tony, Gibbs, Ziva, everyone. For a little while at least.

_Our Last Year on Earth_

_By Timothy McGee_

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Hope you guys liked it. And if anyone is interested, the title of McGee's new book is actually a line from the song "Seasons of Love B" which is from the musical 'RENT'.


	3. Keeping Space

Hey guys, I hope you like this chapter, more of the story should be up pretty soon. PLease review.

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2 months, 10 days, 14 hours, 46 minutes

He was turning into a regular night owl now that he was writing full time. Ever since his first night in the city it had been that way. Once he had started his new story, he hadn't stopped writing until almost 10 in the morning. He had almost 30 pages typed out and lying in a neat stack next to his typewriter.

One in the afternoon was quickly becoming his dawn. McGee would lazily work on his apartment, trying to battle his way through the piles of boxes that held his books, records, and spare computer parts.

But the clean up wouldn't last for long, as he would hear his typewriter calling his name. He wasn't quite sure what he was writing but he knew it was something big, something that actually meant something to him.

Sitting back in his chair he stared at the words sprawled out on the page before him. McGee couldn't help but glance over at his phone, sitting silently on top of the completed pages. Abby hadn't called him since the night he had left, although fled might be a more accurate term for what he had done.

Ducky was the only one other than Abby or Sarah to call him. McGee hadn't answered but listened to the rambling message the older man had left. Ducky wished him well and that he hoped things worked out in New York. He had laughed when the voice message had cut the doctor off as he was telling McGee about a friend who had gone to New York in the 60's. The message had been meant to be supportive but left him feeling like shit. If he ever got back to NCIS, he would have to remember to ask Ducky about the end of the story.

***

Abby had thrown herself into her work, and her consumption of Caff- Pow had increased exponentially. Gibbs was having a hard time keeping up with her supply but the older man knew she needed it, so he wasn't complaining. Gibbs himself was in a crabbier mood than usual and Special Agent Keating was taking the brunt of the abuse.

She would have sorry for the kid, if she wasn't concentrating so hard on not screaming and pulling her hair out in utter frustration and loneliness. McGee hadn't called or e-mailed her and despite her longing to talk to him, she left him alone. Abby figured he just needed some space to sort things out and settle in. But standing by and doing nothing to help get her family back together was killing her.

Abby knew she needed to talk to someone about what was going on. She ruled Gibbs out because the older man was going through enough already. Piling her problems on top of his wasn't going to make things any better.

Taking a sip from her Caff-Pow, she opened up her e-mail account. There was only one person she could actually get in touch with that would make her feel better. She quickly typed out Tony's e-mail address and before Abby knew it, she was typing out the whole story in full detail for him to read. At the end she wrote about how much she missed him and that Gibbs was working on getting them all back together. She ended it with how many months, days, hours, and minutes had gone by since they were all torn apart.

Abby hit the send button and hoped that Tony would have a chance to read it soon. She wasn't quite sure how often he got to check his e-mail while he was on board the ship.

***

2 months, 13 days, 1 hour, 18 minutes

It was one in the morning when his computer announced that he had a new e-mail. He slid the computer chair from one end of the room to the other where his computers had been set up.

McGee was surprised to see Tony's e-mail address and the subject line which read 'You better respond to this Probie.' He couldn't help but chuckle as he opened the message.

'_McGeek! You got some splannin' to do. Abby told me everything that happened. I applaud you for giving the metaphorical finger to Vance, but New York Probie? Haven't you ever watched Law and Order? And why haven't you been answering when Abby calls you, you really upset her McGee. You better be glad Gibbs isn't around to give you a smack upside the head. Although it is Gibbs, for all you know he could be standing right behind you.' _

McGee couldn't help but look behind him, feeling the tension leave him as he realized Gibbs wasn't there.

'_HA! Made you look. But seriously McGee, talk to Abby and at least tell her that you're alive and well. Hope New York is treating you better than Cyber Crimes. But don't get comfortable Probie, if Gibbs has his way we'll all be back at NCIS in no time. Any amount of time on this damn ship is too long for me though. Talk to Abby! Be safe kid. _

_-A.D-_

McGee got out of his chair and walked over to the large window that led out to the fire escape. He knew Tony was right, he was being stupid and his idiocy and guilt had hurt Abby deeply. He looked back over at the computers; he knew he would have to respond to Tony sooner or later. If not, he was sure the older man could still make his life a living hell from all the way out at sea. Tony was just that damn talented at teasing people.

Walking into his bathroom, McGee looked at himself in the mirror and he thought about Abby crying as he told her he was leaving. He imagined her crying as she realized he was ignoring her on purpose. "You are the smartest dumb person I know," he mumbled to his reflection. Gibbs wasn't there and neither was Tony so he had to make due with smacking himself on the back of the head.

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Please review, I'd really appreciate it.


	4. Brothers and Sisters

Alright here's chapter 4. I hope youguys are liking this story and please review.

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McGee decided he would respond to Tony's e-mail later. He instead went out to the closest bar he could find and had gotten pleasantly buzzed. McGee didn't pay attention to the people around him, smiling and having a good time, or nursing broken hearts as he was.

He had figured out that the best way to get rid of his nightmares was to drink until he passed out. It didn't work all the time and every time his remedy failed he would wake up in a cold sweat.

Kate and Director Shepard were the two people he saw often in his nightmares. Staring at him accusingly as he pleaded with them to tell him what they wanted him to do. They never just stared until they faded away, but their eyes burning into his soul.

He knew why they were haunting him. Because when it came down to it, it was his fault that they were dead. If he hadn't ducked behind the car when the terrorists had shot at him, Ari would have killed him and left Kate to live. If he had gotten the GPS on Director Shepard's phone faster, Tony and Ziva could have gotten to her in time. It was his fault and they knew it.

Sometimes he saw his mother, and he would wake up crying.

McGee sat down in his chair in front of his computers and began to type. He needed to vent and it was too late at night to call and wake up Sarah or his father. He knew he was drunk and probably wouldn't make sense in his e-mail to Tony, but he didn't very much care.

'_Hey Tony, I know I've been a complete and uttr asshole to Abby. I promise I'll at least tell her I'm alive. Other tha that I have no idea what I'll say. Shell try and convince me to come back and I can't do that. But if there's anyone that could make me do it, it's her. _

_The metaphorical finger to Vance was bitteswet at best. It would have been better if I'd actually told him to go fuck hisself. But you gota pick your battles and if Gibbs gets us all back, Vance is going to make my life fucking hell as is. _

_New York is okay so far, and you're not the only one to tell me about the whole Law and Order thing either. Despte what everyone think I can take care of my damn self. I know this email isn't making much sense but I'm drunk as hell. _

_Hope Gibbs gets you off that boat or ship whatever the hell it is and Ziva back from Iseal. Be safe.' _

_-Probie-_

He hit the send button and then stumbled off to bed, hoping the gods would have mercy on him. He prayed he wouldn't see their faces.

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2 months, 15 days, 7 hours, 26 minutes

Abby was micro waving a bowl of tomato soup when her pone began to ring. She ran to the living room and picked it up without looking at the Caller I.D.

"McGee?" she asked excitedly.

"Yea, but not the one you were hoping to hear from I assume," a female voice said over the line.

"Sarah?" Abby asked, surprised to hear from Tim's sister.

"Yea sorry, I hope you're not busy or anything," Sarah replied.

"No, no it's fine," Abby said in earnest.

"I'm calling to talk about my idiot brother, I told him to call you, but knowing him, he's finding reasons not to."

"no he hasn't called or e-mailed me, but it's ok ya know, cause it's been a few days and he probably needs time to get settled in and figure out the city," Abby tired to reason.

"Abby, Tim spent an entire summer in New York during college, he knows his way around the city well enough," Sarah said, hating to burst the other woman's bubble of hope.

"He never told me he spent a summer in New York," Abby said softly, wondering what else McGee hadn't told her.

"Unfortunately he hasn't told you a whole lot about himself at all," Sarah replied. "Tim's being stupid, once my big bro has his mind set on something he's not going to let anyone change his mind but himself. He'll come around eventually, but it might take time."

"Have you talked to him lately; has he said anything about me?" Abby asked.

"I talked to him a few days ago, I tried to ask him how he felt about leaving you behind by yourself but he didn't want to talk about it at all. He hasn't gotten a new job, he's decided he's going to be a full time writer now," the younger woman explained.

Abby smiled and looked over at her bookcase where all of McGee's books were stored. "Another Deep Six?" she asked.

"No, he said he's done with Deep Six he's working on something completely different now," she said and Abby felt her heart drop. McGee was done with the books he had based on all of them. He was done with them.

"He seems to be doing alright Abby, and he won't be able to keep himself from speaking to you for much longer," Sarah said reassuringly.

"And what if he decides he doesn't want to talk to me ever again?" Abby said, the despair evident in her voice.

"The I suggest you buy a ticket to New York and ask him what the hell his problem is in person, just remember to call me so I can give you his address," Sarah said and Abby couldn't help but laugh.

"Thanks Sarah," she said.

"No problem, if you need someone to talk to, feel free to call me, after all I owe you for keeping me out of jail," the younger woman said.

"I will, thanks again Sarah."

"Bye Abby."

"Bye Sarah."

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Yes I know I misspelt a lot of things in McGee's email to Tony but it was on purpose seeing as how he's drunk. So I hope you guys liked it and chapter 5 will be up soon and will introduce a new character and you get to learn a little more about the Tim McGee I'm creating. I hope you like my interpretation of him.


	5. I like my nights with a lot of light

This is an all McGee chapter. The next chapter will be an all Abby chapter. I hope you guys like this and I hope you like the original character I've introduced in this chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.

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'_You're very foul-mouthed when you're drunk, you know that McGee? Abby told me you haven't talked to her yet. You know you should probably get on that. That is, unless you want your sister to tell Abby where you're living. That is, unless you want to have one very upset forensic scientist who could kill you and get away with it looking for you. _

_I'm well aware that you can take care of yourself Probie, that's not what I was implying at all. Just watch your back ok. CALL ABBY!' –A.D.-_

Tim sighed as he went back over to his typewriter and sat back down. He was really getting tired of walking from one side of the room to the other. He promised himself that he would contact Abby in the next 24 hours. For the moment though he would write.

That's what he was hoping to do, but whatever it was that had possessed him to write so much had suddenly left him. McGee wasn't even going to try and kid himself that he wasn't suffering from writer's block. His imagination was drying up just sitting around his apartment, only going out when the occasion called for it.

He knew if he wanted to give his muse something to work with then he would actually have to go looking for inspiration. It was getting close to nine and he was getting hungry so he decided it wouldn't hurt to go out to one of the coffee shops.

McGee hadn't even looked at the name of the shop as he entered. He didn't really care; he was just running on autopilot for the moment. He had sat down at a free table close to the back, he didn't pay he people around him any mind. The place was moderately busy and he knew if he wanted to break himself of his block he would have to pay attention. He sighed and looked down at his menu.

"Hey," he heard a woman say to him.

McGee looked up to see a pretty young woman with black hair stuck up in a messy bun and blue eyes smiling at him.

"Um, hi," he answered wondering why she was talking to him, she didn't look like any of the other waiters running around.

She set her purse down before taking a seat opposite him. He wondered what she wanted; no stranger had come up to him without wanting something.

"Looked like you might need a friend," she explained, throwing him for a loop.

The woman looked friendly enough but he decided to make sure she didn't get to close to his pockets. He remembered Tony's advice to watch his back and that's exactly what he was prepared to do, pretty girl or not.

"My name's Edith," she said, looking slightly embarrassed about the oddity of her name.

"Tim," he replied. "So, Edith?" he asked.

She smiled and shrugged "Yea, my mom's a huge fan of this French singer and she named me after her."

Tim grinned, "Edith Piaf," he said, laughing at the surprised look on her face.

"Yea, how'd y-"

"Mom was a big fan too," he said simply.

"Well I'm impressed, most of the time I just get a blank look, although having her name didn't save me from not being able to sing," Edith said with a laugh.

"Mom was from Paris, she made sure my sister and I were introduced to her at an early age," Tim explained before clearing his throat. "Um, so why do you think I look like I need a friend?"

Edith's face softened, "You've got this look in your eyes, like you're lost but are too stubborn to ask for help."

Tim looked away from her "You're very perceptive," he said softly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," Edith said sincerely.

He shook his head and looked back at her "No it's fine, you're right."

Edith smiled slightly and she opened her mouth to say something when a waiter walked over to their table.

"Hey Edith, making new friends I see," the man said.

"Well you know me Aaron, I always like to meet new people," she replied.

"That you do," the young man said with a smirk. "So what can I get you guys?"

"Wine for me, doesn't matter the colour," Tim said, he needed a change from the beer he had been drinking recently.

"Usual," Edith said, but Aaron was already writing it down.

"Ok guys, it'll be out in a sec," he said before spinning on his heels and walking towards the kitchen.

"I'm guessing you come here often," Tim said.

She nodded "It's my home away from home."

"Are you from here?" Tim asked, suddenly wanting to know more about this woman.

"No I'm from Ohio originally."

"I have a friend who went to Ohio State," Tim said, smiling sadly as he thought about Tony and his precious red and white letterman jacket.

Edith noticed the nature of his smile but decided to leave the subject alone for the moment. "What about you?"

"Virginia, this little nowhere town called Jonesville, but my family moved to Norfolk when I was 15."

"Your mother must have thought it boring coming from such a big city like Paris," Edith said as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand. She wanted to hear more about this man who had such a wounded and lost look in his eyes.

Tim shrugged and thanked Aaron as he delivered two glasses of red wine to their table. "My mom loved Virginia, but she always wanted to go back and visit France one more time."

Edith took a sip of her wine "Has she?"

Tim was silent for a moment as he looked down into his glass. "No" he said so softly she almost didn't hear it. Despite it's soft tone, that one word spoke volumes and she realized she had made a mistake by bringing up Tim's mother once more. He already looked down in the dumps and she had a feeling she had made it worse without meaning to.

"What was her name?" Edith asked and he finally locked eyes with her.

"Chantelle," he answered.

Edith picked up her glass "A toast to Chantelle."

Tim couldn't help but grin, some of the sadness leaving his eyes. "To Chantelle."

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Alright, I know McGee is a Scottish name but I thought it would be cool if McGee's mom was French and since we haven't heard anything about his mom that I know of I decided to play with that a bit. As for the Edith Piaf thing, if you don't know who she is I suggest you go and listen to some of her songs, doesn't matter if you don't understand French or not, she's amazing.

Ok well I'll shut up and please review.


	6. Separation Anxiety

M'kay so this is an all Abby chapter. Sorry if any of you guys like Keating but he's about to get his ass handed to him on a platter. So please review and I've got lots of chapters lined up and waiting to be typed out and put on the web.

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2 months, 18 days, 11 hours, 32 minutes

Keating was down in her lab with her. Had been ordered by Gibbs to try and help her crack the encrypted code on the dead Lt. laptop. She would have appreciated the help because she was a bit stuck but Keating's ego about how brilliant he was began to grate her nerves.

The other man touched all of her things on her desk without asking, got in her way the entire time, and looked at her shrine to Tony, Ziva, and McGee with slight disdain. Abby wanted to punch him so badly but she knew Gibbs wouldn't want her to. Not to mention all the trouble she could get in with Vance if he found out.

She tried doing the 'imagine-the-asshole-isn't-there' trick that McGee had tried to teach her. It didn't work any better than it had the last time she'd tried. Keating sighed loudly and looked over at her CD player. "Can you turn that stuff down, I can't concentrate," he said with exasperation.

Abby glared at him for a moment before storming over to the player and violently hitting the power button.

"McGee never minded," she mumbled.

"Well I'm not McGee," Keating snapped. "I don't even know why you praise him so much; I'm just as smart if not smarter than him.

Abby couldn't believe what she had heard. All of her frustration and sadness exploded in her. She slammed her hand down on the table causing Keating to jump.

"If I ever hear you bad mouth McGee or any of my friends again, I will have no choice but to maim you so badly your own mother won't even recognize you, understand?" Abby growled out, her eyes alit with anger.

Keating stared at her and couldn't help but shrink under the intensity of her gaze. "Now get out."

"But Gibbs-" he tried to say.

"He'll understand now get out of my lab!" Keating quickly exited, once out of her sight, running to the elevator doors.

Abby went back to her stereo as the elevator doors slid shut and pressed the play button, turning it up louder than it had been before getting back to work. It didn't take Gibbs long to enter her lab, Caff-Pow in hand. He turned her music down so they could talk to each other without shouting.

Abby didn't greet him or complain at her music being fiddled with, her eyes glued to the screen, her fingers flying over the keyboard rapidly.

"You keep banging on those keys like that and you're going to break that thing," Gibbs said softly. Abby didn't reply and Gibbs placed the Caff-Pow on the desk.

"Keating's scared to come down here," Gibbs tried again to make her respond.

"Good," she said.

"Wanna tell me why?"

Abby turned to look at him "He said he was smarter than McGee, no one is smarter than McGee, well maybe me, but only sometimes but for the most part we're even. Not that I'm saying that Keating isn't smart but there is no way he's smarter than McGee," she babbled out.

Gibbs just nodded his head; waiting until she calmed down a bit before he would respond. "You're not mad at me are you?" she asked.

He grinned "No Abs, now what do you got for me?"

Abby turned back to her computers "Well whatever Lt. Lee had on his computer he did a damn good job of protecting it, I haven't been able to really get anything that might tell us why he was murdered, as for the fingerprint I pulled off the piece of glass, AFIS is still working on it."

Gibbs nodded and before he could speak the computer beeped and a photo of Lt. Lee's son popped up on the screen.

"That's good work Abby," he said, kissing her cheek. "Next time you yell at Keating try not to scare him so badly," he told her as he walked out of the lab.

Abby saluted his retreating form and smiled for the first time all day. She looked back over at her wall of pictures, her eyes fell on the construction paper that she had drawn a face crying and below had a sticky note with how many days it had been since everything had gone to hell. It had been 78 days collectively and two weeks since Tim had moved to New York.

Her smile left her face and she knew before she left that the sticky note would have to be changed out for a new one with the number 79 on it.

She needed cheering up desperately so she opened her e-mail hoping that Tony had been able to respond to her. There was only one message she hadn't read and it was from tim. She quickly opened the e-mail and began to read.

'Abby, I'm sorry I haven't talked to you for so long. I could make up some lame excuse but I know you would know it was a lie. Tony told me that I should at least tell you I was alive but I think I can do a little better than just that.

I miss you Abby, I know I haven't been acting like I do but I really do miss you. I've spent most of my time here holed up in my apartment trying not to think of you or anyone at NCIS, hoping it would somehow make it easier to deal with things. It hasn't but I made a friend tonight named Edith and tonight was the best I've felt in months. I'm sorry I ignored you, but I thought that if I talked to you, then you'd convince me to come back. But I need to be away right now Abby, I need to get my shit together and focus on writing it all out. Cause if I don't then I'm going to have a nervous breakdown. I promise though, if Gibbs manages to talk Vance into letting us all come back then I'll come home. I don't think they'd last long without me doing the tech stuff anyway. Kidding.

I hope you're not too mad at me, but I wouldn't blame you if you are. I miss you. –Tim-'

Abby read the e-mail twice before closing out of her account and got back to work. She wasn't sure what to say at the moment. She decided she would respond to him when she got home. She tried to focus on Lt. Lee's laptop once more, but all she could think of at the moment was the woman McGee had mentioned meeting. Who was this woman Edith, and what did she want with Tim?

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Yay McGee has made contact finally. Please review!


	7. Once Around the Block

Yay another chapter. Please review it makes me happy.

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2 months, 17 days, 22 hours, 24 minutes

Tim and Edith had finished eating almost 2 hours ago but still they sat in the back of the café talking and getting to know each other. Aaron had gotten sick of them asking for more wine and had left them a full bottle.

"So how long you been living here?" Edith asked, her speech slurring slightly.

"Two weeks," he responded.

"Two weeks?" she exclaimed.

"What?" Tim asked with a laugh.

"You seem like you've been in the city for a while that's all," Edith said.

"Well I've visited a few times so I know my way around," Tim seemed to brag causing Edith to start giggling.

"What about you?"

"A year, I got a teaching offer at NYU, teaching psychology," she explained.

"Ah, so that's how you knew I was feeling like crap," Tim said as he sat back in his chair.

"You were?" Edith said with a smile "But not anymore?"

"Your therapy session has helped me greatly," he replied.

"Well I'm glad, you can write me a check now," she said with a teasing grin.

"How about I pay for dinner and all this wine we're drinking," Tim offered.

"Deal," she said. "So what is your profession?"

"I'm a fe…" Tim started to say before correcting himself. "I'm a writer."

"A starving artist then," she said before sipping on her wine.

"Not really starving, but I am an artiste," Tim said jokingly.

Edith sat her glass down and leaned forward a bit, resting her forearms on the table. "So what do you write about?" she asked with earnest interest.

"Mystery novels, but I'm working on something new right now," he explained.

"Wanna tell me what?" Edith asked.

"Nope, it's a secret," he said and she pouted a bit.

"That's not fair," she complained.

Tim shrugged "Sorry but this I keep with me."

"Oh alright," she said with an over dramatic sigh. "So are you going to tell me what was going to come out of your mouth before you backed up and said you were a writer?"

"It's amazing how you can be drunk and still so observant," Tim remarked.

"I am not drunk," she said defensively.

"Oh yes you are," Tim replied with a chuckle.

"Don't change the subject you," she said before picking up her wine glass once more.

"Yes ma'am," he said giving her a half-assed salute that would have earned him a slap upside the head if Gibbs was around.

Edith almost choked on the wine as she began to laugh. "You're trying to kill me."

"I would do no such thing," he said with a small smile.

Edith's laughter subsided and she looked at him expectantly and he sighed, knowing she wouldn't let him get away with not answering.

"I was going to say that I'm a federal agent but as of the moment it isn't true," Tim explained.

"What happened, did you get fired?" she asked.

"I quit," he said simply.

"Why?"

Tim sighed "It's a long complicated story and I am not nearly drunk enough to talk about it right now," he said before downing the rest of the wine in his glass.

"Maybe later then," Edith said. "So were you in the FBI?"

Tim couldn't help but start laughing. "What?" Edith asked, wondering what was so funny.

"I wouldn't work for the FBI for all the money in the world," Tim said still laughing. "Hell I don't think Fornell would take me after all the trouble we caused him."

"Well then what, Mr. Secret Agent Man?" she asked.

"NCIS," Tim said and before Edith could ask he answered. "It stands for Naval Criminal Investigative Services, NCIS for short."

"So you're a Navy cop," Edith said hoping she had understood correctly.

"Was a Navy cop," Tim said bitterly.

Edith could tell the topic of conversation was turning sour fast so she decided to drop the subject of NCIS for the moment.

"Come on," she said as she stood up.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"Outside for some air, we've been cooped up in here for long enough don't you think."

Tim got in line to pay for their dinner while Edith went outside to wait for him. "Having fun?" Aaron asked with a smile as Tim got to the register.

"Yea," Tim said.

"She's a great friend, but if anything happens to her, I'll kill you," Aaron said darkly. Tim felt as if he was being threatened by an over protective father but he had given more than one of Sarah's boyfriend's the same talk so he could understand.

"Nothing will happen to her I promise," Tim said and Aaron nodded his head, confident that his point had been made.

"Ok, you kids have fun," Aaron replied with a smile as he handed Tim his change and receipt.

Edith was leaning against the brick wall next to the door smoking a cigarette. "Hey," he said.

"Hey," she replied with a grin. "Want a cigarette?"

He thought about telling her no, he had stopped smoking after he had gotten out of college. "Sure," he said, figuring it wouldn't hurt as much as all the drinking he had been doing as of late. Edith handed him the pack and lighter and he took out a cigarette and lit the end as he watched her walk away, towards his apartment. Unconsciously he stuck the pack and lighter into his jeans pocket and hurried to catch up with her.

The smoke wasn't as hard on his lungs as he thought it would be after all the time he had gone without their comfort. "You're friend Aaron is a little over protective, is he some crazy ex-boyfriend that I should watch out for?"

Edith laughed "No not Aaron, he's gay, we've been friends almost since the day I got here, why did he give you the, if you look at her wrong I'll kick your ass talk?"

"Not those exact words but yea," Tim said.

"Don't worry about him," she said. "He's really just a teddy bear."

"A kindred spirit of mine," Tim said and Edith laughed. "So you're a teddy bear huh?"

"It's what I've been told, that or a puppy dog," he said and he managed to block most of the memories of Abby that began to assault him.

"You don't seem like a puppy dog to me," she said and Tim smiled.

"I'm glad you talked to me," he said, realizing after he said it that he sounded like a loser.

"I'm glad I talked to you too," she said and Tim saw his building getting closer and closer. Even though he didn't want to he knew he should go and write his over due e-mail to Abby.

"I had a great time talking to you," Tim said as he flicked the butt of his cigarette into the street. "But I've got to write an e-mail to a friend back home and if I don't then she's going to get pissed and come up here and kick my ass."

Edith laughed and nodded her head "Alright, I understand, is this your building?" she asked as Tim stopped.

"Yup, this is home now," he said.

"I live all the way down there," she said, pointing down past the café they had been at. "Not very far, maybe we'll bump into each other again," Tim with a grin.

"Oh you ca count on it," she said with a wink causing Tim to blush.

"Goodnight Edith," he said.

"Night Tim," she said before turning around and walking away. He smiled as he dug his hands in his pockets looking for his keys.

"Edith!" he called and she turned around.

"You forgot your cigarettes," he said.

"Keep it, I have a feeling you'll need them," she replied before turning back around.

He looked down at the pack and smiled as he saw that she had written her phone number on the back of the box.

* * *

Ok now before any of you start your yellin about McGee smoking. He's not gonna smoke throughout the whole story. It's just gonna be an every now and again thing...kinda. Whatever DON'T YELL AT ME!


	8. Correspondence

Basically this chapter is about e-mails. Plus ZIVA!!! Yes she makes a round about appearance in this chapter because I just couldn't stand not having her in the story. So review please and more chapters will be up soon.

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2 months, 19 days, 24 hours, 2 minutes

Abby sat on her bed, laptop sitting in front of her, e-mail account up and running but nothing but Tim's address had been typed in. She had been trying for hours to figure out the best way to write back to Tim without making him feel pressured to come home. She also wanted to make sure she didn't come across as jealous because of this Edith woman that he had run into recently.

She didn't have any real reason to be jealous in the first place. All Tim had said was that she was a friend of his, nothing more. It was good for him to have friends; she didn't want him going crazy from solitude while he was away. But for some reason she couldn't shake the feeling that Edith might be the one to steal Tim away forever.

Abby shook her head; she was being stupid and worrisome over something stupid. This woman's name was Edith, that was an old lady's name. She probably lived in his building and he had met her while he helped carry up her grocery's. Abby smiled, the knot of jealousy slowly untying itself. Picking up her laptop she began to type her e-mail.

'_Hey McGee'_

She quickly backspaced and was left with a blank page once more, Abby tried again.

'_Hey Timmy'_

Abby wondered if the seeming enthusiasm was too much. She didn't want to guilt him but she didn't want to make it seem like everything was ok. Sighing Abby leaned back against her headboard as she reached for the Caff-Pow on her nightstand. Taking a big gulp she backspaced once more.

'_Hi Tim'_

She smiled, that felt right. It took her a few tries but she finally composed an e-mail that she hoped was reassuring and understanding enough. Abby hugged Bert to her chest, the stuffed animal made it's usual fart noise as she pressed the send button. She prayed that he would answer back soon. She prayed that Edith didn't take him away from her even more than he had taken himself.

2 months, 18 days, 2 hours, 15 minutes

It was 2 in the morning and he had finally finished his e-mail to Abby. He wondered if she still wanted to hear from him after so long. He had ignored her deliberately for two weeks and hadn't even really given her a chance to say goodbye.

He hoped she would understand. He couldn't tell her everything, he couldn't tell her that Jenny's death and being transferred to Cyber Crimes had driven him to depression. It had been too much on him and he had fled to New York, just like last time. He felt like such a coward.

Sighing he moved his chair back over to his typewriter. His muse was buzzing with excitement and if he didn't start writing soon he'd forget what he had to say.

The cigarettes that Edith had given him were sitting on the stack of completed papers next to his cell phone. McGee wondered how long he should wait before calling her. He didn't want to come off as desperate or creepy stalker like. Shaking his head slightly he decided he would figure all that out later. For now he would let his hyper active muse have some fun.

Standing up he made his way over to his record player and picked out one of the records that his mother had given him. McGee quickly set it up and Edith Piaf's 'Rien de Rien' flowed out of the speakers. He smiled as he went into the kitchen and filled a SOLO cup halfway with water before going back to his typewriter and settled down finally. It was time to introduce a new character to his story. He had vowed that he would never model his characters on anyone he knew or saw in passing anymore, but he decided to make an exception.

***

The sun was coming up and he sat back in his chair, cigarette hanging loosely from his lips as he reviewed what he had written, changing and adding things every now and again with a pencil.

He flicked that ashes into the cup of water which now had four water logged cigarette butts and tons of ash floating in it. He thought idly that he would have to get an ashtray if he was going to pick up his bad habit again.

"You've got mail!" his computer announced loudly.

McGee dropped his cigarette into the plastic cup listening to it hiss as he put down his papers and slid his chair over to his computers. He didn't expect Abby to respond so soon but he knew that she didn't sleep much so it wasn't that much of a surprise.

He wasn't expecting an e-mail from Ziva however.

'_Shalom McGee, it has been far too long since we have last spoken. I hope that things at NCIS are well. Israel is just how it was when I left and despite missing my family I would much rather be at NCIS. I would gladly come back to work with you and Gibbs any day. Tony as well I suppose. _

_I hope things are working out well at Cyber Crimes, I know that you were very upset about being transferred there. Well I shall leave you, tell Abby, Gibbs, and Ducky I said hello. Take care McGee.'_

_-Ziva-_

McGee decided to go ahead and answer instead of waiting until later that day.

'_Hey Ziva, you're right it has been too long since we've talked. Um about things at NCIS…I'm actually not working there anymore. I hated being at Cyber Crimes so I quit and tried to transfer back to Gibbs' team but Vance wouldn't let me. I'm in New York City now; I decided to just focus on writing. Don't worry it isn't another Deep Six. I learned my lesson trust me. _

_I miss you too Ziva, hell I even miss Tony. It's weird how things turn out isn't it? The next time I talk to Abby I'll tell her you said hello and tell her to pass it along. Be safe Ziva.'_

_-McGee-_


	9. Comfort There

Yay another chapter! Please review it really makes me happy and it makes me want to continue on so if you like the story and don't want to see it die then you'll review please.

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2 months, 19 days, 4 hours, 22 minutes

McGee's old apartment hadn't been rented out to anyone else yet. Her key still unlocked the door. It was still as barren as it had been two weeks ago, but walking around Tim's tiny apartment, that now seemed huge without all the clutter, helped to calm her down.

It was like she could pretend that she was just waiting for him to get home, even though he didn't have anything to come home to. Slowly she walked into walked into his dark bedroom and a memory suddenly slammed into her. It had been when they were still dating and they were watching 'Evil Dead' at her request. They lay on the bed, Abby using him as a pillow and as he held her she felt had felt so safe.

She stood in the darkness, holding onto the memory before flicking on the lights. For a second everything was in its place, even him, but in the blink of an eye it was all gone. Abby moved to lean against the wall next to the door and sighed heavily.

She knew she had to focus on the silver lining about the shitty situation she felt like she was drowning in. Tim had contacted her and apologized for ignoring her, he was alive and well, Tony had been able to e-mail her over the past few days, and most of all Gibbs had promised to bring them all home.

Even as she focused on her positive thoughts, her negative ones still seemed to slip through the cracks.

"_Unfortunately he hasn't told you a whole lot about himself at all"_ she remembered Sarah saying to her. What hadn't he told her? Was it something he should have? Then there was the horrible thought that Gibbs might not be able to bring them all home.

Abby leaned her head back against the wall and scanned her eyes over the empty room. The not so empty room actually. Lying on the floor where not too long ago McGee's dresser had sat was a photo. She ran to pick it up and bit her lip as she saw what picture it was.

She remembered the day clearly. It had been a slow day and she had been having trouble with one of her computers. Naturally she called McGee to investigate and fix the problem. He had taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves like he was a mechanic ready to work on a beautiful classic car. Abby had offered to help him but he insisted he didn't need any. In half an hour as Abby watched him intently as he worked on one of her babies, he had fixed the problem and had it running better than when she had gotten it.

Abby had thrown her arm around his shoulder and had snapped the picture after he had finished. The next day she had placed the photo on his desk before he had gotten to work with a note written on the back. _'Thanks Timmy, you're the best!' Love, Abby'_

Had he forgotten it in the rush to pack his things? Did he leave it there on purpose?

She ran the tip of her finger over his face and she felt herself begin to tear up. Abby refused to cry again, crying never solved anything. Shoving the picture in her purse she quickly left the apartment.

2 months, 18 days, 15 hours, 17 minutes

His eyes shot open, pupils constricting to pin points as the afternoon sun blinded him. "Shit," he mumbled as he sat up and wiped at the sweat on his face. Throwing off the covers he got up and headed into the bathroom. He hadn't seen Kate or Jenny, just his mother. McGee was seeing her in his dreams more frequently and as he turned on the shower he couldn't help but wonder if coming to New York had been such a good idea.

He shook his head and mumbled to himself 'Get a fucking grip McGee.' Stripping off his boxers he got under the lukewarm spray and tried to wash away his past, if only for a little while. It didn't take him long to shower and as toweled himself off he wondered idly why women took such long showers. McGee shrugged, resigned to the fact that he would probably never know the answer.

As he was pulling on his jeans he heard his cell begin to ring. Walking into the living room he saw that Sarah was calling.

"What?" he answered.

"Well hello to you too," Sarah said her voice thick with sarcasm.

"Smart ass," Tim mumbled.

"You talk to Abby yet?"

"Sent her an e-mail this morning," Tim said. "I'm fine by the way."

"Now who's being a smartass?" Sarah shot back.

He rolled his eyes before looking down at the pack of cigarettes still on his desk.

"Don't roll your eyes at me," Sarah said firmly.

Tim paused in his movements for a moment and quirked an eyebrow, "Who said I was rolling my eyes?"

"Good guess," she said innocently.

"I'm sure," Tim said as he lit a cigarette, making sure to hold the phone away as he did so.

"Oh my God, Timothy Louis McGee, I can't believe you're smoking again!" Sarah yelled.

"You have cameras in my damn apartment don't you," McGee said as he looked around suspiciously.

"I know that click, you spent 5 years smoking and you don't think I know when you're lighting a cigarette?" Sarah asked.

"Ever think I could be lighting incense or a candle?" he asked, not even bothering to deny her allegations.

Incense makes you sick and you hate smelly candles," she said smugly.

"Good point," Tim said as he blew out the smoke invading his lungs.

"I can't believe you're being so stupid," Sarah said angrily.

"I'm not being stupid Sarah, I know what I'm doing," he countered.

"Yea you're getting lung cancer, way to go smart guy, how do you think Abby's gonna feel when she finds out about this?" Sarah asked demandingly.

"Shut up Sarah, god damn," he said exasperated as he hung up on her.

He shoved the phone in his pocket before sitting down at his desk. McGee knew he shouldn't have hung up on her like that but he didn't feel like listening to her bitching at the moment. But she had hung up on him more times than he could remember so he figured she had it coming.

It was getting close to 3:30 and he decided it was late enough in the day. Digging his phone back out of his pocket he called the one person he wanted to talk to.

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Oh I wonder who McGee's gonna call. Is it Abby? Well you'll just have to wait won't you. Reviews make me post new chapters faster.


	10. Telling Stories

This another all McGee chapter. The next chapter will obviously be an all Abby chapter. I hope you guys like. Please review.

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"I'm glad you called," Edith said as they met outside the café they had been the day before.

"I am too," Tim said with a genuine smile. He looked her over, her black hair hanging loose and free, wearing a form fitting button up plaid shirt, skinny jeans, and sneakers. Tim wondered how he had gotten to this point in his life. All through high school and most of college girls wouldn't even look in his general direction. Now he was getting phone numbers from a woman that seemed way out of his league. The again, Abby was way out of his league and he had her for 5 months.

"So what do you want to do?" she asked him, sticking her hands in her back pockets and Tim wondered if she knew how adorable she looked when she did that.

"I'm not really sure," he said, feeling very stupid. He should have at least had something in mind before calling her.

Edith laughed and jerked her head to the side "Come on," she said.

Tim moved to walk beside her, up the street where he knew her apartment was. He looked over at her as they made their way through the never-ending shuffle of people. She grinned over at him and offered him her arm. Tim wondered what he should do, it wasn't everyday that a woman offered to walk arm and arm with him. McGee decided to go with it and not waste anymore time thinking.

"So did you manage to write the e-mail to your friend?" she asked.

Tim was silent as he thought of Abby. "Yea but I'm not sure it was what she wanted to hear," he said.

"What do you mean?" Edith asked.

"She didn't want me to leave in the first place and I ignored her for a while because I was afraid that if I talked to her she would convince me to come back home," Tim explained, knowing that he was sounding more and more like a prick.

"Wow," Edith said.

"Yea I'm an asshole," he mumbled.

"From what you've told me, yea you sound a bit like one," Edith said as she unloosed her arm from his. Tim nodded, figuring she would tell him to get lost now.

She walked over to a red Camry parked on the street; she looked to see if any cars were coming. He watched her get in and he wondered what he should do, knowing that she would drive off and leave him standing there. Edith leaned over and pushed the passenger door open. "Then again, I don't know the whole story," she said.

Tim was surprised but happy that she was still giving him a chance. He quickly got in the car and closed the door.

"Where are we headed?" he asked.

"It's a surprise, now tell me a story," she said as she pulled out of her space.

"The director of NCIS died," he began after a long moment of silence/ Edith looked over at him in surprise before remembering that she was driving and locked her eyes back on the road.

"The director that took her place decided it was our fault that she was dead, the team I was on that is, so he decided to split us up. My friend Tony was sent to be an Agent afloat on the USS Ronald Reagan. Ziva, our liaison officer with Mossad was sent back to Israel. I was sent down to Cyber Crimes which is basically just sitting at a desk all day doing computer related things. My boss got a whole new team of incompetents that are driving him crazy. Everything just changed so fast and I couldn't keep up. I quit Cyber Crimes and tried to transfer back to my boss's team but the director wouldn't let me. So I left and here I am," McGee managed to get the summarized version of the story out and he felt slightly proud of himself for that small accomplishment. He didn't want to talk about it at all, but he figured if he wanted Edith to know who he was he would have to tell her all the grimy details.

"I'm so sorry," Edith said softly and Tim looked over to see a few tears running down her cheeks.

"What's wrong, why are you crying," he asked in concern.

"Sorry, I'm not usually a cryer but hearing this story and for you guys to get blamed for someone's death and then have all your friends taken away from you, no wonder you got so fed up and left. It's just really sad ya know," Edith said as she gingerly wiped the tears away.

Tim was amazed, he had never known someone to cry over the troubles of someone they hardly knew. Although he was almost sure that Abby would do the same thing and had most likely.

"I didn't mean to upset you, just forget about it ok, how about you tell me where we're headed?" he said, desperately trying to change the subject.

"It's going to be after this turn," she said. They turned onto Broadway and Tim knew where they were going almost immediately.

"Virgin Mega Store," he said with a grin.

"How did you know?" Edith asked.

"Good guess," he replied, remembering that he would have to call Sarah later.

Tim was amazed at how lucky Edith was at finding great parking spaces. He figured they would have to drive around forever to find a good spot or park a ways down and walk, but Edith spotted an empty space right next to the building and slid right in.

"I'm impressed," he said.

"So am I actually, I think you may be a good luck charm or something," Edith said as she turned off the engine. Tim didn't know what to say so he just looked over at the massive record store and for some reason it felt like they should be there.

"Come on, lets go explore," she said excitedly.

"Are you looking for anything?" Tim asked as they entered the store. Edith just shrugged "Not really, I just like to come here and look around, try and find stuff I've never heard before."

"Like a scavenger hunt," Tim offered.

"I've never thought of it that way, but yea kinda like a scavenger hunt."

He had visited the Virgin Mega Store more than once and its size and complete whorish nature for the music scene still astounded him.

"So tell me more about your friend that didn't want you to leave NCIS," Edith said as she weaved through the crowd of people, taking his hand so they wouldn't get separated.

"Her name's Abby," he said as he looked over at some jazz records but Edith pulled him away and he figured he would get back to it later.

"And?" she prompted.

"She the forensic scientist at NCIS, she dresses goth and gets away with it because she's Gibbs', my boss, favorite. But even though she dresses dark she's a really nice person and one of the smartest people I know, it's really hard to hate her for anything," he explained.

"Wow, you got it bad for this girl," Edith said and Tim thought he heard a tinge of jealousy in her voice but decided he was just imagining things.

"Doesn't matter if I do, we dated for a few months then she dumped me and now we're just friends," he said.

They had stopped moving, both staring at the rock L-Z rack in front of them. "Here try this band, they're really good," she said as she picked up a CD and scanned it under the listening station. She grabbed the headphones and had to stand on her tip-toes to place them over his ears. . He was suddenly assaulted with a rush of music.

'_This door is always open, This door is always open, No one has the guts to shut us out./ But if we have to go now, I guess there's always hope that, Some place will be serving after hours. This night is winding down but Time means nothing, As always at this hour Time means nothing, One final final round cos Time means nothing, Say that you'll stay Say that you'll stay'_

Tim's eyes were glued to Edith as the song played. For some reason the lyrics reminded him of the night before when they had met. She looked at him expectantly as he removed the bulky headphones.

"I like them," he said and her face lit up in triumph. He usually stuck with jazz or records that his mother had owned but he was open to most music that didn't make his ears bleed.

"Who are they?" he asked.

"We Are Scientists," she said and he couldn't help but grin.

"What?" she asked.

"Nothing, We Are Scientists, got it," he said as he snatched the CD from her hands.

"Hey that's my copy," she said before reaching around him to get the CD back. "Now it's mine," he said with a smile as he raised his arm and the CD was now well out of her reach.

"That's not fair, now I'm going to have to where heels around you all the time," she said with a mock pout.

Tim couldn't help but lower his arm and offer the CD back to her. She gently took it from him before looking back at him.

"Who are you really?" Edith asked, wondering how the man in front of her could still be so nice and thoughtful after everything he had been through.

"I don't know," he answered, the honesty shone in his eyes and Edith's heart broke for him.

* * *

The song is 'After Hours' by We Are Scientists


	11. Down in the Basement

Ok I know this is a short chapter but I just had to leave it off where it is cause it's very dramatic. Please review

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2 months, 19 days, 21 hours, 16 minutes

"Hey Gibbs," Abby said as she walked down the stairs into the basement. The door had been unlocked as usual and she decided that Gibbs wouldn't get mad if she came in without knocking.

"What can I do for you Abbs?" he asked, looking over at her as he cleaned his hands with a worn rag.

"Nothing, just wanted to know how the boat was coming along," she lied.

"Abby," he said knowingly and she broke.

"I just needed someone to talk to," she said as she moved to lean against his work table.

"What do you want to talk about?" Gibbs asked, already knowing.

"McGee sent me an e-mail and he said he was fine and he was really sorry about not talking to me in so long but he needs to be away right now and sort out some things," Abby said as she began to pace.

"Did he say he didn't want to come back?" Gibbs asked wondering why McGee's e-mail had upset her so much.

"No he said he would come back when you got everyone back together," she said getting more and more upset.

"Then what's the problem?" he asked.

"I don't fucking know!" she yelled. Gibbs was surprised by her outburst but said nothing.

"He met some girl named Edith a few days ago," she said with a sigh.

"Edith?" Gibbs said, knowing he really didn't have a right to judge the woman's name.

"Yea," she grumbled. "God I'm so stupid."

"No you aren't Abby," Gibbs said trying to comfort her.

"Yes I am, why is it that you never know what you have until it's gone?" she asked

"I don't know, I wish I did," Gibbs said as he took a sip of bourbon.

Abby grimaced as she realized what she had said "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he replied as he poured her a glass.

"Thanks," she said with a smile as he offered her the mug.

"You need to figure some things out while he's away as well," Gibbs said and she looked at him in surprise.

"I mean you're feelings about McGee, you need to figure out if this is just because he's gone," Gibbs said. He knew they had broken rule 12 before and McGee had gotten his heart broken. He didn't want it to happen again, because if it did they just might lose McGee for good.

Abby knew he was right. She had always been bitchy when he had a new girlfriend, but when he was single she told him she loved him like a puppy. She couldn't have it both ways.

"You're right," she said softly before taking a drink. Then again Gibbs was alright so she shouldn't be so shocked.

"Tony told me to tell you that he slaps himself upside the head everyday to ease his home-sickness," she said with a grin.

Gibbs couldn't help but chuckle and Abby started to laugh. "Only DiNozzo," he said.

Turning, he looked back at his half built boat and Abby walked to stand beside him. "One of these days you're going to have to tell me how you plan to get this thing out of here," she said.

"One day I will," he said as he put down his drink and picked his sander back up. "Just not today."

Abby opened her mouth to complain but was interrupted by her cell ringing. Gibbs looked over his shoulder as she answered.

"Hey Sarah," she said. Gibbs wondered if the Sarah she was talking to was McGee's little sister.

"Tim told me he e-mailed you," Sarah said.

"Yea he did and I e-mailed him back today," Abby replied.

"Ok I was just checking, I didn't know if he actually did or if he told me he did just to get me to shut up about it," the younger woman explained.

"Um, has he said anything about a woman named Edith?" Abby asked timidly.

"No, although we didn't talk for very long, we kinda got into a fight and he hung up on me."

"He hung up on you?" Abby asked in shock. It wasn't like McGee to get upset and hang up on someone.

"Yup," Sarah said simply.

"What were you two fighting about, if you don't mind me asking."

Sarah was silent for a moment "I really shouldn't say but he hung up on me so confidentiality flew out the window."

Abby decided to turn on speaker phone so Gibbs would know what was going on.

"He's smoking again."

Gibbs looked at the phone as if it had grown legs and a tail. "What do you mean again?" Abby almost yelled. "He told me he didn't smoke."

"Well when he told you it was probably true," Sarah said calmly. "Tim started smoking when he was seventeen…after something really bad happened."

"What happened?" Abby asked calmly and Gibbs took a step towards her.

After a long silence "Our mom died," she said softly before hanging up.

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Told you it was dramatic. Review!!


	12. Kissing Without Kissing

Hey, I'm back and bring a shiny new chapter. I hope you guys like and please review.

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2 months, 18 days, 16 hours, 27 minutes

They had left the Virgin Mega Store behind and Tim had forgotten all about going to the jazz section with all the new artists Edith was introducing him to.

"So tell me about you," Tim said.

"What do you mean?" she asked, glancing over at him.

"Well I mean, you've heard of some of my messed up past, what about you?"

Edith shrugged "I'm from Ohio, which you already know. My mom owns her own dance studio in Toledo and my dad's been absent my whole life, and my half brother is a druggie living out in California, he's trying to make it as a musician. When I was 11 I accidentally killed my kitten Billy when I stepped on its back in the middle of a power outage. I've been working at NYU for a year and get mistaken for a student a lot cause I'm younger than most of the professors there/ Pretty mundane stuff, not like the excitement I'm sure you're used to."

"Well your life may be a little mundane but you certainly aren't," he said with a smile.

"Thanks," she said. "So what's your favorite colour?"

"Clear," he answered with a grin.

"Smarty pants, come on Tim what's your favorite colour?"

"Red I guess," he answered with a shrug.

"Oh fire, passion, anger, love," Edith said.

"Are you psychoanalyzing me based on my favorite colour?" he asked.

"Perhaps," she replied with a playful wink.

"Where are we headed now?" he asked, they had been driving aimlessly for a while and didn't seem to be headed anywhere unparticular anytime soon.

"I have no idea, I'm just driving around wasting gas," she replied.

"Sounds like a plan," he said as he settled back into the seat and pulled out the pack of cigarettes she had given him the night before.

"I see you're getting some use out of those," Edith said, spying the pack.

"In more ways than one," he replied as he rolled down the window and lit the cigarette.

"Mind if I have one?" she asked.

"They are yours," he replied, handing the cigarette he had just lit to her. He watched her put the filter in between her lips. For a moment he thought that her placing her lips on the same filter as him was some weird roundabout way of kissing. He shook his head and lit another cigarette.

2 months, 19 days, 22 hours, 17 minutes

"Did you know his mother had died?" Abby asked as she stared at the floor.

"No, he never said anything," Gibbs replied and Abby sighed tiredly.

"He never told me either, why didn't he tell me?" Abby asked.

"I don't know Abs, sometimes people just keep things to themselves," Gibbs tried to explain to her and his thoughts went back to how he had hidden the fact that he had been married 4 times and divorced 3 and that he had, had a child.

"But I told him about my parents and everything, then the whole smoking thing, I mean I would have been upset but I would have gotten over it."

"I'm sure he would have told you at some point," Gibbs said, his attempt to calm her and see things from McGee's perspective didn't seem to be working all that well.

Abby shrugged in defeat and looked at the time on her phone. "It's getting late, I should get going."

She gave Gibbs a hug before turning to head up the stairs. "Night Gibbs, thanks for everything."

"Night Abby," he said as he watched her go.

***

She sat in front of her computer looking through the Newark obituaries for 1993. She had started looking for anything concerning McGee's mother's death a few years earlier but had found nothing so she went back to 1993 and began to look through each month. Abby finally found her in November.

"Chantelle McGee," Abby whispered as she looked at the woman's photo. She was beautiful and she looked like a slightly older version of Sarah. But her eyes were exactly like Tim's.

She typed in the name at Google and clicked the first link that came up. It was a newspaper article, Abby began to read the story in front of her and she gasped. "Oh my God, Tim."

2 months, 18 days, 16 hours, 38 minutes

They had gotten turned around and where now headed back in the direction of home. Tim leaned his head against the window and watched the cars, cabs, and buildings go by.

"Are you hungry?" Edith asked.

Tim looked over at her "Yea, starving actually," he said, his stomach growling in agreement.

"Alright, how about I cook something for you, make up for you paying for my dinner last night," she said.

"Sounds good, just don't try and kill me once you get me all alone," Tim joked.

"Damn you've seen through my cunning plan," Edith said with a laugh.

"Well I was a federal agent ya know," he replied.

"Does that mean you automatically know who the bad guy is?" Edith asked.

"Um, no," he said sheepishly and Edith laughed. "So what were you going to do if I do turn out to be some crazy serial killer?" she asked.

"Well I've never hit a woman before but I'm pretty sure if it came down to my life or the moral high ground I'd probably kick your ass and feel bad about it later," he said.

"Oh what a gentleman, and what makes you so sure that you could kick my ass anyway?" she asked as she reached over and gently pushed him with her fist.

"Fear for my life," Tim answered honestly. He wasn't a great fighter but Ziva had taught him enough to hold his own in a fist fight. Tim wondered if he had ever really thanked her for her lessons.

"You're right, you probably could kick my ass," she said. "So how do you feel about lasagna?"

"I would love some lasagna," Tim replied, his stomach growling even louder causing Edith to laugh and Tim to blush beet red.

***

"So this is home," she said as she opened the door and threw her keys on the small table next to the door.

Her apartment was a bit smaller than his but she had more furniture so he supposed it made up for its size. He followed her into the kitchen but she chased him out. "Go sit at the bar, I'm making dinner here," she said.

"Ok, ok," he said as he exited the kitchen and sat at the bar built into the cabinets and faced into the kitchen. Tim watched her run around, getting the oven ready and pulling out the store bought lasagna from the freezer.

"So who do you like better, The Beatles or the Rolling Stones?" she asked as she brought out a cookie sheet.

"You ask the weirdest questions," Tim said as he placed his chin in the palm of his hand.

"How is that a weird question, I'm trying to start a dialogue here," she replied.

"Bob Dylan," he answered and she looked over at him in surprise. "Good answer," she said, impressed.

He watched her walk over to her entertainment system and begin to look through an impressive stack of CDs that reminded him slightly of Tony's huge movie collection. Tim wondered how the older man could survive without watching his classics every day.

He was brought out of his thoughts by Dylan's voice coming through the speakers. Edith shook her hips and bobbed her head in time with the music of 'It takes a lot to laugh; it takes a train to cry.'

"Did you notice that all of our conversations usually end up at music?" McGee asked as she walked over to him.

"I had noticed," she said as she took his hand and gently pulled him off the bar stool. "But I like to think that music is life."

"I think I saw that on a T-shirt somewhere," he replied and she laughed. "Guilty as charged," she said before she began to dance once more.

"You know this would be the point in the conversation when you ask me if I'd like to dance with you," she said.

"To Dylan?"

"Why not?"

He shrugged "Sure why not, so would you like to dance?" he asked as he offered her his hand and she took it.

Tim had never been that great of a dancer but Edith said nothing about his two left feet. She smiled as he twirled her around before she stepped away from him while keeping a hold of his hand. He spun her back into his arms as the music ended. They stared at each other, bodies pressed together and for a moment neither was sure of what to do. Another song began to play and moved away from each other as if scalded.

"I should go check on the oven," Edith said.

"Yea," he replied dumbly as she walked back to the kitchen. Tim let out a breath he hadn't even known he was holding and sat back down at the bar.

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Uh oh, methinks McGee may be developing a crush on someone, and whats all this buisness about McGee's mother and what did Abby find out. Well stay tuned and you'll find out soon enough. Please review.


	13. Whispered Dealings

Ok so this chapter is kinda short but I hope you like it anyway. More Abby/Tim correspondence in the next chapter I promise. Plus the next chapter should be longer. Please review it makes me happy.

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2 months, 20 days, 14 hours, 24 minutes

Abby grinned as she glanced over her shoulder and saw Keating staring at her nervously from the doorway to the lab.

"Can I help you Special Agent Keating?" she asked as she looked back at her computers.

"Um, Doctor Mallard wanted me to give these to you, it's the slugs found in Petty Officer O'Reilly," Keating said as he cautiously ventured closer to her.

She spun around and snatched the evidence jars out of his hands along with the paper she had to sign to keep up with the chain of evidence. "His name is Ducky, you've been here long enough to know that," she said curtly.

"Yes…um well I'll just get out of your way," he said before quickly heading towards the door.

Abby felt rather smug that Keating was still scared of her. She had never been one to try and outright intimidate or scare anyone the way she scared Keating. But she couldn't find it in her heart to forgive him at the moment for what he had said.

"Abigail," she heard Ducky say. Abby turned around and smiled when she saw Ducky on the small screen that allowed them to have live video streaming between the lab and autopsy.

"Hey Ducky, I got your present," she said as she jiggled the evidence jars in front of the camera.

"Yes I see," Ducky said giving a small smile. "Um, Jethro told me that you spoke to Timothy."

Abby's smile faltered and she sat the evidence jars on the table in front of her. "Yea, well not really talk, he sent me an e-mail and I sent him one back, that's about all there's been."

"I see, and how are you my dear?" he asked in concern.

Abby began to fiddle with one of her arm bands. "I'm fine, I mean he said he would come back when Gibbs fixed everything, it's kind of like he's on vacation really."

"Uh huh, and what of this girl Edith, Jethro said that you were concerned about young Timothy being around her," Ducky said and she knew that he was trying to get her to open up about it but she felt too emotionally drained to keep letting it all out. Plus she didn't want to let something slip about what she had learned about McGee's mom.

"He's a grown man, he can take care of himself," she said dismissively.

"Abby…" Ducky tried to say but she cut him off.

"I've gotta go Ducky, I need to see if these slugs match the ones from our bad guys gun," she said before she killed the feed.

Abby took a deep breath "Ok let's get to work."

"Ready when you are Abs," she heard McGee say behind her. She gasped and spun around quickly a large smile on her face "Timmy!" she said excitedly but there was no one there.

"Great, now I'm going crazy, this is all your fault McGee," she said with a pout.

2 months, 18 days, 17 hours, 18 minutes

"This is really good," Tim said before taking another bite of lasagna.

"Well don't look at me, all I did was heat it up," Edith said and he shrugged. "Trust me, I know people who could screw even that up."

"You wouldn't be talking about yourself now would you?" Edith asked teasingly.

Tim chuckled "No, my sister Sarah, she blew up our microwave when she was fourteen, like literally blew it up, I tried to fix it but it was a lost cause."

"You didn't tell me you had a sister," Edith said with intrigue.

"Yea, she's almost twenty one and wants to be an English Lit. teacher," Tim said.

"Writing's in the family," she said.

"I guess, but she'll be much better at it than I am, I kind of just stumbled into it really, it was just something to do," he explained.

"I don't think you give yourself enough credit Mr. Gemcity," Edith said with a coy grin before taking a sip of her wine.

Tim almost choked on his lasagna. "H-how did you know?"

"My friend Maria is a huge fan of yours, I remember seeing a picture of you on the back flap but I didn't make the connection until last night when I was getting ready for bed," she explained.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" he asked.

She shrugged "You use a pen name, and you didn't feel the need to share that you were a celebrity to everyone in a 5 block radius so I figured you wanted to keep it private."

"You haven't read them have you?" he asked worriedly.

"No, although they come highly recommended," she answered.

"Do me a favor, don't read them," he said, his tone almost pleading.

Edith frowned "Why not?"

Tim poked at the bit of lasagna left on his plate. "Tim, from what I've heard they're great, why are you ashamed of Deep Six?" she asked.

"I'm not ashamed of them…I just…I'm so used to keeping it a secret and I never wanted to be famous I just wanted to get it out of me."

"Ok," Edith said before standing up to get another piece of lasagna.

"Ok what?" he asked.

"Ok I won't read them, I promise," she said. "But, I want first copy of whatever it is you're working on once it's published."

"That's some term," Tim said with a thankful sigh.

"Alright, second copy," she said.

He couldn't help but smile at her. "First copy, I promise."

"You drive a hard bargain, it's a deal," she said happily as she offered her hand and they shook on it.

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Please review


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